Open Letter for German Action Against Human Rights Violations in the West Bank & More Updates
In the last days, we’ve been collecting signatures for an open letter against the atrocities in the West Bank. Here is a part of it:
“Since the announcement of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in October 2025, international attention has largely shifted away from the region. However, the Israeli government has continued to severely violate the ceasefire and its human rights obligations, in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank. We call upon Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, to fulfill its own obligations under international law and its commitment to human rights by acting decisively against these ongoing atrocities.
The situation in the West Bank is deteriorating rapidly. In recent months, there has been a surge in settler violence against Palestinians, particularly targeting herding communities in Area C. These attacks – which include the daily harassment of farmers, targeting of humanitarian activists – Israelis and internationals – and organized raids on Palestinian villages – often occur with the tacit agreement or active assistance of the Israeli military. According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, more than 44 communities have been displaced since October 2023.
Germany holds a unique position of influence in the West Bank as a primary financial supporter of both the Palestinian Authority and local civil society. While the U.S. has turned a blind eye to the escalation of extremist violence and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, the many military raids on cities and villages in the region must not enjoy tacit international approval. We urge Germany to shift its policy and pressure Israel to cease the annexation and human rights violations.“
Ein Beitrag von Joseph Croitoru auf Zeit-Online über die Auseinandersezuimg um die Deutungshoheit in den aktuellen politischen Auseinandersetzung in Israel / Palästina
NEW EPISODE Hold the Fire FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Crisis Group experts Amjad Iraqi, Mairav Zonszein and Max Rodenbeck about President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and its implications for Gaza. They unpack the structure of the board’s different layers, how Palestinians are reacting to the new Palestinian technocratic Gaza committee and what that committee will do. They look at conditions on the ground in Gaza amid frequent ceasefire violations and Hamas’s continued hold of parts of the strip. They also assess the obstacles to moving the peace plan forward, including working out agreement on the sequencing of Hamas decommissioning weapons, on one hand, and Israeli withdrawing troops and letting in reconstruction aid on the other, as well as the still-uncertain prospects for an international stabilisation force in the strip.
Weine aus israelischen Siedlungen werden in deutschen Supermärkten, Online-Shops und auf Fachmessen als ‚israelisch‘ vermarktet – und normalisieren so die illegale Besatzung der palästinensischen Gebiete
Tu Bishvat calls us to protect the people whose lives and dignity are tied to the land. Below, we share a message from Combatants for Peace (from Sunday) about their recent work standing with Palestinian farmers under threat, and an invitation to give in honor of the recent holiday:
Tonight marks the beginning of Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees – a time that calls for renewal, responsibility, and the protection of land and the people who depend on it. We chose to mark this moment as a call to action and a reminder that Israelis and Palestinians can, and must, stand together to protect livelihoods and resist dispossession, settler terrorism and incitement.
On Friday, activists from Combatants for Peace and Bnei Abraham gathered to support a Palestinian organic farm located in the heart of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. The family has lived and farmed this land for more than 200 years. Today, they are the only Palestinian farming family left in the area, surrounded by settlements, outposts, and a growing pattern of settler violence, intimidation, and land takeover.
Der Internationale Strafgerichtshof (IStGH) hat einen israelischen Antrag auf Einstellung seiner Ermittlungen zum Gaza-Krieg abgelehnt und die Gültigkeit der Haftbefehle gegen Premierminister Benjamin Netanjahu und den ehemaligen Verteidigungsminister Yoav Gallant bestätigt.
Die Ermittlungen erstrecken sich auch auf die Ereignisse nach dem Hamas-Angriff vom 7. Oktober 2023. Israel lehnt jedoch die Zuständigkeit des IStGH ab und bestreitet, Kriegsverbrechen begangen zu haben, und behauptet, daß seine Kampagne im Gazastreifen darauf abziele, die Hamas auszuschalten.
Der IStGH hatte ursprünglich auch gegen den Hamas-Führer einen Haftbefehl erlassen, der jedoch nach Berichten über seinen Tod aufgehoben wurde. Die aktuelle Entscheidung betrifft nur einen von mehreren israelischen Einsprüchen. Wann der IStGH über die weiteren entscheidet, ist noch unklar.
Amnesty International hat einen Bericht zum Angriff der Hamas und vier weiterer bewaffneter Gruppen auf Israel am 7. Oktober 2023 veröffentlicht. Aktuell (11.12.25) liegt der Bericht auf Englisch und Arabisch vor (Executive Summary) (Bericht dazu auf orf.at) (Nachtrag am Abend des 11.12.25: Bericht auf Deutsch bei Amnesty Deutschland)
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Through its research findings and legal analysis, Amnesty International has concluded that Palestinian armed groups committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attacks in southern Israel that started on 7 October 2023 and continued to commit violations and crimes under international law in their holding and mistreatment of hostages and the withholding of bodies seized. It considers that Hamas, including its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was chiefly responsible for these violations and crimes. Other Palestinian armed groups, notably Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including its military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, formerly the military wing of the Fatah political movement, were responsible to a lesser extent, as were unaffiliated Palestinian civilians from Gaza in some instances.
In light of these conclusions, Amnesty International makes a number of recommendations to secure justice and reparation for victims and survivors of crimes committed. Amnesty International has presented its recommendations in relation to the genocide and other crimes under international law committed by Israel in Gaza, specifically, and in Israel and the OPT, more generally, in other publications.
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups must unconditionally return the body of Ran Gvili, seized from Israel on 7 October 2023, as soon as it is located. They should seek international assistance if needed to locate it. They must investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law, including crimes under international law, committed by their forces during the 7 October 2023 attacks and since, including with respect to hostages. They must publicly acknowledge, denounce and halt the serious violations of international humanitarian law, including crimes under international law, that have been and continue to be perpetrated, and commit to non-repetition of such violations. Amnesty International also calls on Hamas, as the de facto authority in Gaza, to ensure that all those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and crimes under international law committed during the 7 October 2023 attacks and since then, including with respect to hostages, are brought to justice in fair proceedings conducted by an independent and impartial judicial mechanism. Amnesty International calls on the Israeli authorities to end violations of international law against Palestinians in the OPT and Palestinian citizens of Israel. The authorities should continue criminal investigations into the 7 October 2023 attacks, hostage-taking and seizure and holding of bodies. Where there is sufficient admissible evidence, the authorities must bring those reasonably suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law to justice. The accused should be tried in civilian courts, in open proceedings that respect international human rights law and do not apply the death penalty. The Israeli authorities should take a survivor-centred approach to pursuing justice and accountability.
Israel, Hamas – as the de facto authority in Gaza – and the authorities of the State of Palestine should all engage with, cooperate fully with and provide access to all international justice institutions and UN human rights mechanisms investigating or monitoring violations of international law in Israel and the OPT, including the ICC, the UN Commission of Inquiry, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied Since 1967.
All parties should share with these international justice institutions and UN human rights mechanisms all evidence they have collected that is relevant to the investigation of such violations, including those committed by Palestinian armed groups, for the purpose of pursuing accountability and redress.
Nachrichten zur antiken Stätte Sebastia (bei Nablus)
November 24, 2025
Aus dem Mailing vom Emek Shaveh vom 24. November 2025
In recent years, we have been closely monitoring Israel’s increasingly aggressive actions at archaeological sites across the West Bank – steps that violate international law, dramatically reshape realities on the ground and are tantamount to de facto annexation. One site we follow with particular concern is Sebastia, one of the most important archaeological sites in the West Bank and a candidate for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for the State of Palestine.
Last week, the Israeli Civil Administration announced the expropriation of approximately 1,800 dunams (some 550 privately owned plots) belonging to residents of Sebastia and the neighbouring town of Burqa. Needless to say, the settlers’ plans have nothing to do with conserving the site – if that were the case, there would be no issue at all, as the entire archaeological mound lies in Area C. Despite the administrative division between Areas B and C, the town and the site form a single historical landscape. The town itself contains impressive antiquities and together, the site and the town, constitute the rich heritage of Sebastia.
The settlers’ plan to separate the town from the site includes paving a new access road entirely within Area C, through which Israelis would reach the site; building a visitors’ center; fencing the site; and charging entry fees – similar to what has been done at Herodium. These steps would effectively sever the site from the town and from the community to which it has belonged for generations.
Following the expropriation announcement, an emergency meeting was held yesterday in Sebastia. Residents reported that the expropriation will severely restrict access to agricultural lands and could lead to the loss of roughly 3,000 olive trees, some of them centuries old. This development comes on top of a sequence of measures that began in March 2023 with the government’s plan for the site, followed by the military seizure of the top of the mound – against which both residents and we submitted objections – and, of course, new excavations by the Staff Officer for Archaeology. All of these steps serve a clear objective: severing the community from the site and from its heritage.
The emergency meeting on Saturday was attended by the Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, the Governor of Nablus, and the Mayor of Sebastia. Participants discussed ways to oppose the expropriation and what actions might be taken to halt it. Our Executive Director, Alon Arad, also joined the meeting and presented our expertise and understanding of the situation, as well as potential avenues for action.
Residents described increasing difficulties accessing their land – difficulties that resulted in nearly 60% of the olive trees not being harvested this year, an estimated loss of around 300 tons of olives. They also reported a dramatic decline in tourism, on which many families rely for their livelihood, due to movement restrictions and army harassment, including the use of tear gas and stun grenades near visitors, and demands to shut down local businesses around the site.
The expropriation marks a dramatic escalation, and we are examining how we can effectively support the residents of Sebastia in resisting this plan. We will continue to update as developments unfold. For more information see the following press release:
Emek Shaveh (Pressemitteilung vom 19. November 2025)
Ergänzung am 26. November 2025: Beitrag von David Neuhaus SJ auf Independent Catholic News, der mit diesen Zeilen endet:
„Religious leaders and people of faith and goodwill must urgently speak out to stop this action. If we remain silent in front of such an egregious decision, then more and more of the Palestinian heritage will be seized. We cannot allow the religious and cultural heritage of the Palestinians to be confiscated, violated and erased using religious texts and archaeological research. The entirety of the land we call holy is the home of Christians, Muslims, and Jews whose common heritage can be identified in the layers of history that stretch back to Biblical times. This heritage cannot be treated as the exclusive property of one group. Rather, in truly honouring this heritage, we might be able to open a future horizon of equality, justice and peace for all who treasure this heritage.“
Über die Ansichten der in Deutschland lebenden Bevölkerung zum Angriff der Hamas auf Israel am 7. Oktober 2023 und Israels anschließender militärischer Offensive in Gaza ist wenig bekannt. Eine im August 2025 durchgeführte quotierte, repräsentative Online-Umfrage mit 1.050 Befragten gibt Einblicke in die Meinungen darüber sowie in die Bewertung der Medienberichterstattung, das Verständnis von Antisemitismus und die Haltung zur Erinnerungskultur.
